I slept a lot today. I was weary this morning, and went back to bed at 9am and suddenly, it was 11.30! Sleeping a lot feels a bit as though I'm not appreciating the time off, but I guess that's what it's for really.
I then decided to head out to a retail park and get the new moses basket mattress from Mothercare as I've read you shouldn't use second hand ones for risk of microbes or something in them.
Anyhow, I had a bit of a shopping urge and got a pair of cheap jogging bottoms from Primark and a couple of baggyish tops to wear once baby is born to hide a saggy tummy!! It's not as though I can try them on now, but hopefully they'll be ok. It was nice to think about wearing normal clothes again to be honest! There's so many lovely things in the shops and it's not worth buying maternity now with only 5 weeks to go.
I also got a large supply of Izzy food and some lunch for Steve and I. And some under bed storage boxes as Mum and I began sorting through the boys clothes that my friend Claire had passed over to me. 6 bin bags full of boys clothes!! Mum had gone through to find newborn and 0-3 size and I now have a huge pile of vests and some cute little outfits ready hanging up and we'll be tackling the 6-9 and 9-12 later this week to store in the tubs as it won't all fit in the little wardrobe.
And later this evening, we've got our second private ante-natal class. This one is covering what happens from 10cm dilated to a new baby being out!! Fun stuff.
Tuesday, 8 March 2011
Monday, 7 March 2011
So...... first day of maternity leave and what do I do?
I fall down the stairs.
Seriously.
8 months of not falling and this morning, whoosh, I just lost my footing on the top step and next thing I knew I was on my back and at the bottom. At least it was my back and not my front. My buttocks are pretty well padded so I was more shocked than anything else.
I sat down on the sofa trying not to cry and rang my Mum who said to rest and see how I felt shortly. I had a drink of cold water and baby was moving away in there, but I just feel achy all over, probably due to the tension in my muscles.
I did ring the midwives for advice, feeling utterly stupid, especially after going to delivery on Friday night, (they're going to think I'm a crazy attention seeking hypochondriac) but I said baby was moving and I didn't feel any pain and there was no bleeding.
They just said to rest up and monitor myself for the day so sofa it is. I mean, that was my original plan anyway. I've had a nap and just had lunch. All seems ok, but I'm cross with myself for not being more careful.
Lets see what the afternoon brings.....
EDIT:.... this afternoon has been. Baby's movements have been normal, he's been jiggling around, and I'm not too sore or anything from the tumble so will just keep being wary on it all. It's been a nice relaxing day actually, with lying on the sofa, watching 'The Lord of The Rings FOTR' and a tasty steak pie for dinner.
Seriously.
8 months of not falling and this morning, whoosh, I just lost my footing on the top step and next thing I knew I was on my back and at the bottom. At least it was my back and not my front. My buttocks are pretty well padded so I was more shocked than anything else.
I sat down on the sofa trying not to cry and rang my Mum who said to rest and see how I felt shortly. I had a drink of cold water and baby was moving away in there, but I just feel achy all over, probably due to the tension in my muscles.
I did ring the midwives for advice, feeling utterly stupid, especially after going to delivery on Friday night, (they're going to think I'm a crazy attention seeking hypochondriac) but I said baby was moving and I didn't feel any pain and there was no bleeding.
They just said to rest up and monitor myself for the day so sofa it is. I mean, that was my original plan anyway. I've had a nap and just had lunch. All seems ok, but I'm cross with myself for not being more careful.
Lets see what the afternoon brings.....
EDIT:.... this afternoon has been. Baby's movements have been normal, he's been jiggling around, and I'm not too sore or anything from the tumble so will just keep being wary on it all. It's been a nice relaxing day actually, with lying on the sofa, watching 'The Lord of The Rings FOTR' and a tasty steak pie for dinner.
Sunday, 6 March 2011
35 Weeks
How far along: 35 Weeks
Total Weight Gained: I actually weighed myself this week :) And it wasn't as horrendous as I'd anticipated, I've put on 2 1/2 stones so as long as I'm careful for the rest of my five weeks, I'm hoping not to go above 3 stones in total. Baby weight is apparently about 2 stones so just an extra 1/2 stone is manageable to me.
Maternity Clothes: Indeed. Although if I do attempt to wear something non-maternity I look so ridiculous and stretched it's very funny!!
Stretch Marks: Just the under the bump ones. Still rubbing in lotions and potions twice daily though! They're terrible itchy now, driving me crazy so rubbing in lotion all the time and using a cold flannel to calm them down at night. They've certainly stretched from my original pic of when I discovered them though :(
Sleep: I've been getting up a couple of times a night, not so much to use the loo but more potter around and stretch and ease my achey hips.
Best Moment of the Week: Finishing work for months! I'm now officially on maternity leave.
Movement: Lots and lots.
Gender: He's a baby BOY!!!
Belly Button: Still in and out as baby feels he wants it at the moment! Flat today though.
Milestones: Five weeks to go until the due date, so baby will definitely be here by Easter. And now it's a waiting game!
Total Weight Gained: I actually weighed myself this week :) And it wasn't as horrendous as I'd anticipated, I've put on 2 1/2 stones so as long as I'm careful for the rest of my five weeks, I'm hoping not to go above 3 stones in total. Baby weight is apparently about 2 stones so just an extra 1/2 stone is manageable to me.
Maternity Clothes: Indeed. Although if I do attempt to wear something non-maternity I look so ridiculous and stretched it's very funny!!
Stretch Marks: Just the under the bump ones. Still rubbing in lotions and potions twice daily though! They're terrible itchy now, driving me crazy so rubbing in lotion all the time and using a cold flannel to calm them down at night. They've certainly stretched from my original pic of when I discovered them though :(
Sleep: I've been getting up a couple of times a night, not so much to use the loo but more potter around and stretch and ease my achey hips.
Best Moment of the Week: Finishing work for months! I'm now officially on maternity leave.
Movement: Lots and lots.
Gender: He's a baby BOY!!!
Belly Button: Still in and out as baby feels he wants it at the moment! Flat today though.
Milestones: Five weeks to go until the due date, so baby will definitely be here by Easter. And now it's a waiting game!
Saturday, 5 March 2011
Drama of Pavlovian Proportions (a little TMI)
I think Pavlovian means predictable in this sense. I hope so else this post title isn't as witty as I'd have liked it to be. And it's going to be a long one. It involves my last day of work, and a jaunt to the hospital (that's the dramatic element) but it all ends well. Dependent of course on your definition of the term 'well'.
Ok, so it's my final Friday. I spend the previous Thursday evening baking fairy cakes and a big pavlova as that is one of my favourite desserts and I decided I'd have something there I liked. I made it a peach melba style with peach slices and raspberries and it came out rather larger than I'd anticipated but looked splendid!
On getting to work I felt a bit daunted and sat in the car just letting time go by but headed in for 9.00am feeling a bit more relaxed. Everyone in the office was impressed with the cakes (vanilla with Cadbury mini eggs as decoration, and chocolate orange with chocolate orange slices as decoration) and there were suitable ooh's and aah's over the pavlova too!
Albeit my last day, there were many loose ends to tie up so I wasn't bored by any means and when we had our 10.20am tea break (yes, we are that routinal!) I had my first taste of my pavlova and it was yummy. The raspberries were quite sharp but with the meringue that was fluffy and marshmallowy it worked like a charm. I didn't eat very well yesterday to be honest, I kept nibbling at this pavlova instead which probably wasn't sensible but it was my last day and at 4.30 we all headed over to a local gastro-pub for after work drinks and a meal for those who wanted to eat which was nice. There were 14 of us in total.
Steve joined us for his dinner as he happened to be in the vicinity and some folks headed off directly but us admin girls stayed out till 7.30pm!! It was nice, just chatting and giggling. Steve came to get me and we had just settled into our evening of relaxing, watching some tv and chatting (the first evening in what felt like ages just the two of us) when I got some tummy cramps (and here comes the TMI part so look away those with a delicate constitution) I headed to the loo thinking nothing of it and went as relatively normal *blush* and then noticed the toilet seemed to be filled with blood. Lots and lots of bright red blood. Also a clot. I panicked. I called Steve and he looked too and said 'this is the sort of thing to check with the midwife' so we rang them and they asked us to come in. I wasn't sure where the blood had come from, just that there was a lot, and I wasn't bleeding or gushing my waters or anything like that but we drove round to the hosptial and off we went. They had a bed for me waiting and a midwife called Tracy began some tests, with a urine sample first, then they strapped the ECG to me to monitor the baby.
I was feeling a bit silly by this point, sure that it wasn't vaginal bleeding, but still not sure where or how the blood had come from when Tracy came back to say I had protein in my urine, low blood pressure and the baby's heart beat was a bit slow. So now I started to worry a bit. I had to lie on the bed and just relax whilst they continued to monitor the baby and after a glass of cold water, that seemed to wake him up enough to satisfy the midwife that all was well there. They then got a Dr in to do an internal as being 35 it has to be a Dr rather than a midwife.
The experience has helped me to decide that I would prefer a midwife led birth over a Dr one, as the Dr was very rushed, whereas the midwives seemed more friendly and this Dr lady came in to check me up there. They positioned a light which made Steve smirk so I glared at him until he looked suitably uncomfortable. He then genuinly looked terrified as they came at me with a speculum covered in jelly and man it hurt. They told me to relax and push down there, but I really couldn't. I tried but I froze so it was a painful examination.
My cervix was closed and there was no chance of the blood having come from there. Then Steve asked whether pavlova could cause bleeding to which I squeezed his fingers as we'd realised that was probably the reason for the protein in the urine, all the egg whites that go into pavlova and I'd not held back with the snacking of it.
The Dr did ask whether I'd eaten beetroot which could cause colouration and then that made me think of all the raspberries I'd eaten on the pavlova as that could have dyed things a bit more red than normal.
So all in all, after these numerous check-ups (which did help me feel very reassured about the standard of care at the maternity ward) we were allowed home about 11.30pm upon which I fell into bed, exhausted and slept right through till this morning!
So I don't think I could look another pavlova in the face for a very long time.
Ok, so it's my final Friday. I spend the previous Thursday evening baking fairy cakes and a big pavlova as that is one of my favourite desserts and I decided I'd have something there I liked. I made it a peach melba style with peach slices and raspberries and it came out rather larger than I'd anticipated but looked splendid!
On getting to work I felt a bit daunted and sat in the car just letting time go by but headed in for 9.00am feeling a bit more relaxed. Everyone in the office was impressed with the cakes (vanilla with Cadbury mini eggs as decoration, and chocolate orange with chocolate orange slices as decoration) and there were suitable ooh's and aah's over the pavlova too!
Albeit my last day, there were many loose ends to tie up so I wasn't bored by any means and when we had our 10.20am tea break (yes, we are that routinal!) I had my first taste of my pavlova and it was yummy. The raspberries were quite sharp but with the meringue that was fluffy and marshmallowy it worked like a charm. I didn't eat very well yesterday to be honest, I kept nibbling at this pavlova instead which probably wasn't sensible but it was my last day and at 4.30 we all headed over to a local gastro-pub for after work drinks and a meal for those who wanted to eat which was nice. There were 14 of us in total.
Steve joined us for his dinner as he happened to be in the vicinity and some folks headed off directly but us admin girls stayed out till 7.30pm!! It was nice, just chatting and giggling. Steve came to get me and we had just settled into our evening of relaxing, watching some tv and chatting (the first evening in what felt like ages just the two of us) when I got some tummy cramps (and here comes the TMI part so look away those with a delicate constitution) I headed to the loo thinking nothing of it and went as relatively normal *blush* and then noticed the toilet seemed to be filled with blood. Lots and lots of bright red blood. Also a clot. I panicked. I called Steve and he looked too and said 'this is the sort of thing to check with the midwife' so we rang them and they asked us to come in. I wasn't sure where the blood had come from, just that there was a lot, and I wasn't bleeding or gushing my waters or anything like that but we drove round to the hosptial and off we went. They had a bed for me waiting and a midwife called Tracy began some tests, with a urine sample first, then they strapped the ECG to me to monitor the baby.
I was feeling a bit silly by this point, sure that it wasn't vaginal bleeding, but still not sure where or how the blood had come from when Tracy came back to say I had protein in my urine, low blood pressure and the baby's heart beat was a bit slow. So now I started to worry a bit. I had to lie on the bed and just relax whilst they continued to monitor the baby and after a glass of cold water, that seemed to wake him up enough to satisfy the midwife that all was well there. They then got a Dr in to do an internal as being 35 it has to be a Dr rather than a midwife.
The experience has helped me to decide that I would prefer a midwife led birth over a Dr one, as the Dr was very rushed, whereas the midwives seemed more friendly and this Dr lady came in to check me up there. They positioned a light which made Steve smirk so I glared at him until he looked suitably uncomfortable. He then genuinly looked terrified as they came at me with a speculum covered in jelly and man it hurt. They told me to relax and push down there, but I really couldn't. I tried but I froze so it was a painful examination.
My cervix was closed and there was no chance of the blood having come from there. Then Steve asked whether pavlova could cause bleeding to which I squeezed his fingers as we'd realised that was probably the reason for the protein in the urine, all the egg whites that go into pavlova and I'd not held back with the snacking of it.
The Dr did ask whether I'd eaten beetroot which could cause colouration and then that made me think of all the raspberries I'd eaten on the pavlova as that could have dyed things a bit more red than normal.
So all in all, after these numerous check-ups (which did help me feel very reassured about the standard of care at the maternity ward) we were allowed home about 11.30pm upon which I fell into bed, exhausted and slept right through till this morning!
So I don't think I could look another pavlova in the face for a very long time.
Thursday, 3 March 2011
Penultimate Day
Tomorrow is officially my last day of work before maternity leave.
That means once I walk out of the doors at 4.30 I have no work and am just waiting for baby to arrive.
I'll have five weeks until my due date which means he could be here any time really, but after 37 weeks and definitely be here within seven weeks in case things run over!
I'm not sure words can express how I'm feeling at the moment, anxious, in anticipation, daunted, excited. All in all it equals butterflies. Giant ones fluttering around causing slight nausea. I think I shall distract myself by baking cakes to take in for the office.
That means once I walk out of the doors at 4.30 I have no work and am just waiting for baby to arrive.
I'll have five weeks until my due date which means he could be here any time really, but after 37 weeks and definitely be here within seven weeks in case things run over!
I'm not sure words can express how I'm feeling at the moment, anxious, in anticipation, daunted, excited. All in all it equals butterflies. Giant ones fluttering around causing slight nausea. I think I shall distract myself by baking cakes to take in for the office.
Wednesday, 2 March 2011
Midwife at 34 Weeks
I had my 34 week appointment today. It was the first one of the day so there was no waiting for me this time!
I mentioned my episodes of breathlessness and pounding heart which she said could be signs of a slight iron deficinancy so I've been prescribed iron tablets which I'm worried will have the common side effect and affect me in other ways so I'm eating fruit and drinking water like mad!! I'm still on bran cereals as well as a precautionary measure (sorry to be graphic!) but the thought of what could happen is a bit nasty and I'd like to avoid that as best I can!
We then listened to the heart beat, going strong and well, and she felt the baby to say he was head down and had a very firm bottom!! Apparently some babies have squishy bottoms but mine has a firm bottom which could be mistaken for a head!! He was moving around nicely for her as well, so no issues there at all!
It was a nice quick appointment and from this point they go to every two weeks. The 36 one will be at home in a fortnight, and back to the Doctor's for the 38 week appointment (provided baby hasn't made an early appearence of course!!)
Then as Steve had the car at a meeting (I'd walked to the Dr's from home first thing) I thought I'd try and catch the bus to work as there was one that went directly to the Uni. So off I trotted and missed it by one minute! There was one at 9.00am and the next one wasn't until 9.40am so I wasn't prepared to sit and wait for 40 minutes so caught the next one which went as far as the hospital, and then was a bit silly and walked the rest of the way. And I suffered with back pain for the rest of the morning :( Standing up from my chair caused some very painful twinges so I was glad to finish at lunchtime for another ante-natal class.
I mentioned my episodes of breathlessness and pounding heart which she said could be signs of a slight iron deficinancy so I've been prescribed iron tablets which I'm worried will have the common side effect and affect me in other ways so I'm eating fruit and drinking water like mad!! I'm still on bran cereals as well as a precautionary measure (sorry to be graphic!) but the thought of what could happen is a bit nasty and I'd like to avoid that as best I can!
We then listened to the heart beat, going strong and well, and she felt the baby to say he was head down and had a very firm bottom!! Apparently some babies have squishy bottoms but mine has a firm bottom which could be mistaken for a head!! He was moving around nicely for her as well, so no issues there at all!
It was a nice quick appointment and from this point they go to every two weeks. The 36 one will be at home in a fortnight, and back to the Doctor's for the 38 week appointment (provided baby hasn't made an early appearence of course!!)
Then as Steve had the car at a meeting (I'd walked to the Dr's from home first thing) I thought I'd try and catch the bus to work as there was one that went directly to the Uni. So off I trotted and missed it by one minute! There was one at 9.00am and the next one wasn't until 9.40am so I wasn't prepared to sit and wait for 40 minutes so caught the next one which went as far as the hospital, and then was a bit silly and walked the rest of the way. And I suffered with back pain for the rest of the morning :( Standing up from my chair caused some very painful twinges so I was glad to finish at lunchtime for another ante-natal class.
Tuesday, 1 March 2011
Expecting Ante-Natal - 1
Every Tuesday evening throughout March Steve and I are booked onto some private ante-natal classes. We had been recommended these by friends from Church and have to say, the first one was really good and informative.
It's limited to six couples so its the same faces every week, and we knew one other couple from Chucrh when we got there which was nice.
We covered a lot of material in the two hour session, but it was useful with practical tips so here's the points that stuck with me:
Latent Phase of Labour:
This can last hours, days or even weeks.
We can help our labour along by moving our pelvis - we were shown exercises like going up stairs sideways or walking on foot on a kerb and one foot in the street!! Just to get the pelvis wobbling.
Baths will help will pain relief.
When you're told to take a couple of paracetamol and to rest, it's not always solely for pain relief, it's to help keep your temperature down which can be raised during labour!
A bagel was used as a visual aid as to the cervix!! The inside hole being approximatley the 3cm dilation and the diameter edge being 10cm and the cervix sort of bunches up to squish into a bit of a bagel shape so it's not only dilation to worry about, the bunching up has to happen too.
Every contraction helps and goes towards contracting the uterus so even if it feels like nothing is happening, it's all working to the end.
We're looking forward to next weeks session :)
It's limited to six couples so its the same faces every week, and we knew one other couple from Chucrh when we got there which was nice.
We covered a lot of material in the two hour session, but it was useful with practical tips so here's the points that stuck with me:
Latent Phase of Labour:
This can last hours, days or even weeks.
We can help our labour along by moving our pelvis - we were shown exercises like going up stairs sideways or walking on foot on a kerb and one foot in the street!! Just to get the pelvis wobbling.
Baths will help will pain relief.
When you're told to take a couple of paracetamol and to rest, it's not always solely for pain relief, it's to help keep your temperature down which can be raised during labour!
A bagel was used as a visual aid as to the cervix!! The inside hole being approximatley the 3cm dilation and the diameter edge being 10cm and the cervix sort of bunches up to squish into a bit of a bagel shape so it's not only dilation to worry about, the bunching up has to happen too.
Every contraction helps and goes towards contracting the uterus so even if it feels like nothing is happening, it's all working to the end.
We're looking forward to next weeks session :)
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